Music stand



March 25, 4 H. A. GRUETZMACHER ETAL 2,235,989

MUS IC STAND Filed April 5, 1940 Patented Mar. 25, 1941 PATENT OFFICE MUSIC STAND Herald A. 'Gruetzmacher and Ernest E. Menter,

' Carroll, Iowa ApplicationApril 5, 1940, Serial No. 328,042

3 Claims.-

The object of our invention is to provide a stand for supporting sheet music or for other similar purposes, which is strong and durable and of neat and attractive appearancaand in which the various parts maybe quickly and easily assembled and taken apart without the use of tools, and in which the various parts, when disconnected, will lie substantially flat so that they may be easily handled and transported and will occupy a comparatively small space.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 shows a front elevation of our improved music stand;

Figure 2 ShOWs a side elevation of same;

Figure 3 shows a top View of same;

Figure 4 shows an enlarged detail vertical sectional view on the line 44 of Figure 3 of portions of the top member and the back member, illus- O trating the manner in which they are locked together;

Figure 5 shows an enlarged detail side View illustrating the latch for locking the top member to the front member; and

Figure 6 shows a detail side view of portions of the back member and the front leg member partially detached to illustrate the locking feature.

The three main members of the music stand, the back, the front leg member and the top member, are preferably made of thin wood, such for instance, as plywood, and, hence, the stand is of light weight and when said members are disconnected and placed together one above the other, they will occupy small space and may be easily handled and carried.

The back member is indicated by the numeral Ill. Its top is beveled at I I for locking purposes, and at its front central portion there is secured, preferably by glue, two spaced-apart strips [2 forming an upright groove between them. The lower ends of these strips terminate at points spaced above the lower edge of the back member and are beveled at l3 downwardly and forwardly, as shown in Fig. 6.

The front leg member is indicated by the numeral [4. Fixed to the rear edge of the leg member at the lower end portion thereof are two spaced-apart strips l5 having their upper ends beveled at I 6 upwardly and rearwardly, as shown in Fig. 6. In assembling said parts the rear upright edge of the leg member is placed in the groove between the strips l2 with the strips l5 spaced below the strips I2, as shown in Fig. 6. Then the leg member is moved upwardly relative to the back member, to the position shown in Fig. 2, and when in this position the coacting beveled edges of the strips will securely lock the leg member against both forward and upward movement relative to the back.

The top or desk member comprises a body portion i'l having fixed to its under surface at the rear edge thereof a strip l8 projected downwardly. This top ll, when placed in position for use, inclines downwardly and forwardly, as shown in Fig. 4, and the beveled upper edge of the back member I0 fits against the under surface of the top, and the strip l8 engages the rear upper edge of the back Ill.

The leg member has its upper edge, arranged at the same angle as that of the top member. Hence, when these parts are assembled the upper portion of the back and leg members are locked against relative movement away from each other.

At the front of the top member there is fixed a shelf I9 which extends upwardly above the top and also downwardly below it, and in this downwardly extended portion near the center thereof is a notch 20.

A latch 21 is pivoted to the leg member and has a projection 22 adapted to enter said notch. It may be moved away from the notch, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5. When this latch is in position in the notch, all of the parts of the stand are locked together, the leg member cannot move downwardly because the latch holds it firmly against the top H, and the top cannot move downwardly without also swinging rearwardly from its support by the top edge of the back member, and such rearward swinging movement is prevented by the engagement of the leg member with the back member.

The top member is also locked against any movement relative to the back and leg members, the latch holds the forward edge against upward movement, and its rear edge could only move upwardly with a swinging movement centered at the point where the latch engages it, and this swinging movement is prevented by the strip l8 engaging the back member, as shown in Fig. 4.

When it is desired to disconnect the stand the latch is first moved to open position, then the top may be lifted straight upwardly. When this has been done, the leg member may be moved a short distance downwardly relative to the back member until the beveled portions l3 and I6 are separated, then the front may be moved straight forwardly.

These operations of assembling the parts and locking them together may be done very quickly and easily, and without the use of tools. When assembled, the parts are firmly and rigidly held together. They may also be unlocked and taken apart quickly and easily and without the use of tools.

Due to the improved construction of om music stands, they may be constructed at much less expense than the folding stands now in common use and having hinges and complicated latching devices.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of an upright back member, spacedapart strips in upright position at its front central portion forming a groove between them, a leg member having its rear upright edge adapted to enter said groove, spaced-apart strips attached to the rear side edges of the leg member substantially in line with the first mentioned strips when the parts are assembled, the adjacent end portions of said strips being shaped to form locking engagement with each other to prevent movement of the leg member forwardly relative to the back member, a top member inclined downwardly and forwardly, a strip at the rear of the top member to extend downwardly into engagement with the rear surface of the top edge of the back member to thereby prevent relatively forward movement of the leg member, and means for holding the top member downwardly against the leg member.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of an upright back member, spaced-apart strips in upright position at its front central portion forming a groove between them, a leg member having its rear upright edge adapted to enter said groove, spaced-apart strips attached to the rear side edges of the leg member substantially in line with the first mentioned strips when the parts are assembled, the adjacent end portions of said strips being shaped to form locking engagement with each other to prevent movement of the leg member forwardly relative to the back member, a top member inclined downwardly and forwardly, a strip at the rear of the top member to extend downwardly into engagement with the rear surface of the top edge of the back member to thereby prevent relatively forward movement of the leg member, and means forholding the top member downwardly against the leg member, said means comprising a latch pivoted to the leg member toengage a portion of the top member.

3. A stand of the class described, comprising an upright back member, a leg member extended forwardly from the central portion of the back member, and a top member inclined downwardly and forwardly and resting upon the upper edges of the back member and the leg member, and means for detachably locking them in their assembled positions, comprising interlocking members fixed to the lower front portion of the back member and to the lower rear portion of the leg member, and shaped to engage each other and prevent relative forward movement of the lower portion of the leg member, a stop fixed to the under rear portion of the top member to engage the upper edge of the back member and prevent rearward movement of the back member relative to the top member, and means for detachably connecting the front edge of the top member to the upper portion of the leg member to prevent upward tilting movement of the front portion of the top member.

HERALD A. GRUETZMACHER. ERNEST E. MENTER. 

